Ignite
by Magic and the Marauders
Summary: Before Harry Potter, before the second war, there was an era of teenagers who were forced to grow up too fast. Lily Evans and James Potter were two of this era. Lily and James had a spark, and a spark is all it takes to start a fire. This is their story. The important parts, anyway.
1. Chapter 1- Amortentia

**A/N- OK. Well, I decided that I didn't like the point of view the old first chapter was in, so I decided to do it over again. Bugger. By the way, this is set towards the end of 6****th**** year.**

**P.S. I used some of Rowling's words in this chapter…..they aren't mine!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would not be writing fanfiction for it.**

Lily Evans: Where to begin? She was a beautiful red-haired, green-eyed, studious girl. She was top of almost all her classes, and most everyone liked her.

James Potter: He was raven-haired, hazel-eyed, and bespectacled. All the girls fawned over him and his Marauder pals. But James Potter had been in love with Lily Evans since the age of 11.

There was one problem:

Lily Evans hated James Potter.

"Why me?" Lily Evans asked. "Why does that stupid git have to annoy me, of all people?"

"You mean why does the most popular boy in school have to be hopelessly in love with you?" Alice Prewett said, grinning. "Well gee, I don't know. How unfortunate you are."

"Oh Alice, you and I both know that he's not really in love with me; I just pose the greatest challenge."

"Whatever you say, Lils." Alice said, ruffling her short, blonde hair.

"What's going on here?" Dorcas Meadowes asked, sidling up to the two girls.

"James just asked Lily out, again."

"And she said no?"

"And she said no."

"Figures," Dorcas said, blowing her pale blonde fringe out of her light blue eyes. "You know Lily, I really think you ought to give him a chance; the poor boy's been pining after you for years."

"Please," Lily scoffed. "I'll give him a chance when he _grows up._"

"Hmm," Dorcas said, as the girls walked unconcernedly along. "So, Lils, why aren't you already sitting in Slughorn's classroom?"

"I got held up by Peeves." Lily answered, flipping her auburn curls over her shoulder. "Bloody idiot."

"Why aren't you rushing along at top speed then; instead of sauntering slowly there with Alice and yours truly?"

Lily shot her a skeptical look. "Because it's _Slughorn_."

"Oh that's right; you're his little Potion's princess, I forgot."

Lily huffed and stalked ahead of Alice and Dorcas.

The truth was that Lily Evans _was _Slughorn's potions princess. He always made exceptions for her if she was late to class, and invited her to fancy little dinner parties. He exclaimed over her _flawless_ potion-making, and never missed a chance to introduce her to his old students.

Lily had assumed that she would be a couple minutes late at the most; she wouldn't have been had she not run into Alice and Dorcas, so it was with increasing anxiety that she made her way down to the dungeons.

The first thing Lily noticed when she pushed open the door was that there were cauldrons with potions already simmering in them placed at the front of the room. She was able to get a good look at them as she made her way to the table where Marlene McKinnon, her best friend, was sitting.

The potion closest to her table had a very distinct mother-of-pearl sheen, from which Lily concluded that the potion in question was Amortentia. The scents coming from it relaxed Lily greatly as she sat down; it smelled of fresh parchment, pine trees, and something strangely familiar, it was an earthy, woody scent that Lily thought vaguely she might have smelled on the Quidditch pitch.

"Miss Evans," a booming voice called. "I was beginning to worry!"

"Er… sorry Professor. I got held up by Peeves."

"No worries, no worries." Slughorn chuckled. "All that matters is that you're here now!"

"So where're the others?" Marlene asked, as soon as Slughorn was done interrogating Lily.

"Late, as usual." The latter answered.

Both girls looked up from their conversation, as the door was opened by a hysterically giggling Dorcas, followed by a blushing Alice.

"Miss Meadowes, Miss Prewett, I shall see you in my office tonight, 8 o'clock sharp, and every Tuesday after that for three weeks. Perhaps that will encourage you to be present at my class on time." Slughorn boomed.

Dorcas looked furious as she made her way over to Lily and Marlene. "That is _so _unfair," she hissed. "We were five seconds later than Lily, and he didn't give _her _a detention."

"Well, naturally. Lily here is his favorite; he would _never _give her a detention." Marlene replied.

Lily shushed them quickly, seeing Slughorn preparing to start the lesson.

"As you can see, I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at; just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after you've completed your N.E.W.T's. Can anyone tell me what this one is?" Slughorn indicated the cauldron closest to where the Slytherins were sitting.

Lily's hand shot up into the air quickly.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"That's Veritaserum, professor. Veritaserum is a colorless, odorless potion that forces the victim to tell the truth."

"Right you are, Miss Evans." Slughorn boomed jovially. "What about this one, here?" He gestured towards the one nearest the Ravenclaws.

"Yes dear?" Slughorn acknowledged Lily.

"That one is Polyjuice Potion, sir."

"Excellent, excellent." He chuckled. "And-yes?" Slughorn looked slightly bemused as Lily's hand hit the air again before anyone else's.

"It's Amortentia! Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world, but it can be recognized by its mother-of-pearl sheen, steam rising in characteristic spirals, and smell. It's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us most." Lily rattled off.

"You're quite right m'dear, quite right. I suppose you can also tell us what this one is then?"

"Felix Felicis, sir. Liquid luck."

"Yes indeed, Miss Evans. Now, we begin work. Turn to page ten in your copies of _Advanced Potion-Making,_ and brew me some of the Draught of Living Death. Chop, chop!"

"Care to tell us why you were laughing like a crazed baboon, Dorcas?" Lily asked wryly, after Slughorn had finished his speech.

"Oh, that," Dorcas began, her eyes shining with suppressed mirth. "Well Alice dear and I were walking along, when suddenly we were met by Frank Longbottom." Lily could safely hazard a guess at where this was going.

"Then quite suddenly, Alice darling dropped all her books right on the floor," Dorcas said with glee. "And then when she was leaning over to pick them up, she promptly fell on her face, quite gracefully, I might add."

Alice groaned and buried her head in her arms. "Only because you pushed me." She grumbled into the table.

"Dorcas," Lily said sternly. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do, embarrassing Alice in front of her crush."

Lily's prefect facade lasted about another minute before she burst out laughing. "Oh, that's so funny!" she choked.

"Can you imagine his face?" Marlene said, wistfully before she cracked up too.

"Watch out, Slughorn's coming this way." Dorcas warned.

Alice immediately picked her head up off the table, and began cutting her Valerian roots. Lily was nearly finished by this point, and Dorcas was adding the powdered root of asphodel.

"Miss McKinnon, may I ask what you've been doing this class?" Slughorn's voice sounded behind the girls.

"Er…" Marlene looked guiltily into her empty cauldron.

"I guess I shall see you in detention with Miss Meadowes and Miss Prewett then. Back to work." Slughorn said dismissively.

"This isn't fair! Lily's the only one of us who _hasn't _got a detention from Slughorn." Alice complained loudly.

"James is going to kill me; we have Quidditch practice tonight!" Marlene said angrily, pulling at her long, blonde locks, and beginning to chop up her sophophorus bean.

"I guess that leaves Mary and me, huh?" Lily said brightly.

"No, Mary's got her last detention with Sprout, remember?"

"Oh, well, I need to get McGonagall's essay done, anyway.

Lily smiled to herself as she listened to the playful banter between her friends, not knowing that this would be one of her last truly carefree smiles, not knowing about the months of darkness ahead. And certainly not even thinking that one day soon, everything would change.


	2. Chapter 2- The Head Boy

**A/N- Hi! So, I'm not exactly sure that I'm going to continue this story, I just feel like maybe I'm not ready to write this kind of thing yet…..let me know what you think, by dropping me a review. Anyway, thank you readers; if I have any! This is set in the beginning of their 7****th**** year…no confusing time changes anymore! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would have five mansions in Scotland and a million biographies written about me.**

"Hurry boys! The train leaves in five minutes!" Mr. Potter urged.

James Potter and Sirius Black tore through the crowds of Muggles, as they ran frantically towards the brick wall that was platform nine and three-quarters, paying no heed to the strange looks the people around them were sending their way. After all, one didn't normally see two boys with owls running around a London train station. However, these boys were no ordinary boys; they were wizards, and they were late wizards at that.

"Have a good term, boys! Try not to get into too much trouble! See you at Christmas! And James-!" the rest of Mrs. Potter's warning was swallowed by the hustle and bustle of the station.

James and Sirius charged through the wall, vanishing behind a group of tourists, just in time to hear the warning whistle go off on the scarlet steam engine that would take them to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"C'mon Padfoot!" James yelled as he hoisted first his, and then Sirius' trunks onto the train. James stuck out his hand and Sirius grabbed it gratefully, pulling himself onto the train.

"Let's go find Moony, shall we?" Sirius wheezed.

"Yeah, let's." James agreed.

The two boys began to make their way down the train, checking the compartments for their friends as they went.

"Padfoot! Prongs! Over here!" A chubby, mousey- haired boy called, sticking his head out of his compartment.

"Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed, sliding into the compartment.

"Let me guess, you were late?" A rather skinny, sandy-haired boy asked.

James smiled guiltily.

James Potter and Sirius Black had been late for the Hogwarts Express ever since their fifth year; when Sirius had moved in with the Potters.

"Again?"

"Right you are Moony." Sirius said.

"Remus, you'll never guess what happened this summer." James smiled.

"Do I want to know?" Remus Lupin aka Moony asked.

"Yes, you do. I swear I didn't do anything wrong." James said, holding out his fist to the former.

When James opened his fist, a shining badge was sitting on his palm.

"You're Head Boy?" Remus asked incredulously, raising his eyebrows.

"I always thought Dumbledore might have been a bit mad, but this just confirms it. No one in their right mind would make James Head Boy." Peter Pettigrew said.

"At first, I thought it stood for Humongous Big-Head, you know?" Sirius interrupted.

"Only you Sirius." Remus said exasperatedly, but he was smiling nonetheless.

"But this is wonderful!" said Peter, his eyes shining with glee.

"We get to pull a lot more pranks, and not get in trouble for them!" Sirius butted in.

"No, James is _not _abusing his badge, are you James?" Remus asked pointedly.

"Nah, I don't want to mess this up."

"Well, James, we'd better get going." Remus said, stretching as he got to his feet.

"Get going, where?" James asked, confused.

Remus smiled at how lost James looked.

"To the prefects' carriage, remember? You and the Head Girl have to hold the first prefects meeting."

"Right."

James and Remus left the compartment and began making their way to the front of the train.

"Where is everyone?" James asked as he looked around the empty compartment Remus had led him to.

"Well, we're a little bit early; I figured you might want to talk to the Head Girl about what you're going to say."

"Good idea."

Lily Evans was laughing as she and Alice made their way up to the prefects' carriage.

"Congrats on getting Head Girl, Lils!" Alice told her friend excitedly, for the umpteenth time.

"I've _heard _Alice, darling."

Alice Prewett had been made Gryffindor prefect as Lily had become Head Girl, meaning that Gryffindor was short one prefect.

"Who do you think was made Head Boy?" Alice chattered.

Lily smiled in spite of her nerves; Alice's clear excitement at being made prefect was contagious.

"I don't know Alice, but my money's on Remus."

"Who are the other 7th year prefects?" asked Alice.

'Well, I don't know who was made Head Boy, but for Gryffindor it would be you and Remus, if Remus isn't Head Boy, for Ravenclaw it's Bridget Arvin and Xenophilius Lovegood, for Hufflepuff it's Amelia Bones and Frank Longbottom, and for Slytherin it's Narcissa Black, you know Sirius's cousin, and Bertram Aubrey."

"Right. That's a lot of names to remember." She looked slightly nervous at the prospect of remembering so many names; Alice was known to be a tad forgetful.

'You'll be fine." Lily said, slapping Alice lightly.

"How bad are the Slytherin prefects? Are they both Death Eaters?"

"No, silly. Narcissa's not as bad as Bellatrix, though she's, er, well, she can be a little nasty, though I suppose she's better than most. And Bertram is, well, he's alright."

"Oh, well, you'll never guess who I ran into this summer. I was at Dorcas's, you know? And-"

Lily smiled to herself. Alice was always full of gossip and stories. Last year she had come bursting into the dormitory after dinner yelling about how she had seen Tilden Toots kissing Daisy Hookum, and the year before that- well, you get the point.

"Lily? Lily? Is this the prefects' compartment?" Alice asked, waking Lily from her reverie.

"What?" She asked vaguely.

"Is this the- oh, never mind."

The first thing that Lily noticed after Alice pushed open the door was that the compartment was nearly empty, save for two people. One, Remus Lupin, she had expected to see there, but the second took her completely by surprise.

Why was James Potter in the prefects' carriage?

"Potter- what are doing?" Lily barked.

"I didn't do it!" James yelled, spinning around to face her, and putting his hands up in the air.

"Why are you in the prefects' carriage, Potter?"

James chucked something at her, and Lily caught it. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a badge- not the Quidditch Captain badge; he was wearing that pinned to his sweater- but the Head Boy badge.

"Alright, who did you steal this from?" was Lily's first reaction, for it could be the only plausible explanation. James Potter simply just could notbe the Head Boy.

"I didn't steal it, it's mine."

"No, it's not. No one in their right mind would make _you _Head Boy, Potter."

"That's exactly what Pete said, but then again, Dumbledore's not exactly in his right mind is he?"

"No, I suppose he's far too brilliant to be in his right mind."

"I'm really Head Boy though, Evans." He said with such a level of sincerity, that Lily almost believed him. Almost.

Lily Evans would need much more proof than a badge to believe that James Potter was Head Boy.

"Look, I have the letter right here." He said when Lily didn't look convinced. He drew something out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Lily scanned the letter quickly. That _was _Dumbledore's signature, and she supposed that, great pranksters they may be, the Marauders wouldn't ever pull this big, or serious, of a prank.

"Remus, is he really?" Lily turned to Remus, he was her only hope.

"Yeah, he is actually. I _was _a bit surprised when he told me and Pete on the train today, though."

"No kidding." Lily muttered under her breath. "I guess that means we'll have to be a bit friendlier.

"What?" James looked slightly taken aback.

"Well, we have to at least be civil to each other if we're going to be Heads together." Lily explained.

"Yeah," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up. "Yeah."

"Truce?" Lily asked, sticking her hand out.

"Truce."

**A/N- Well, that was fun! I love writing… anyway, thank you readers! Next update hopefully soon! Hopefully by Sunday! Happy Easter everyone! Drop me a review!**


	3. Chapter 3- Promises

**A/N- First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU! I've gotten a lot more followers than I thought I'd get, and a thanks a to my first reviewer, scared of clouds, who, by the way, recently wrote a great Jily fic, called Turning Tables. Anyway, thank you if you've stuck with me thus far!**

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"Right then, I think that's it. Anything you want to say, James?" Lily asked, turning to him.

James tried to ignore the warm, giddy feeling that was spreading its way up from his stomach. Lily Evans, THE Lily Evans had called him James, not Potter. He loved the way his name sounded on her lips; like it belonged there. Shaking his head slightly, he turned to look at the prefects.

"The rota should be up by tomorrow." James said.

"OK, you're free to go." Lily dismissed the prefects, and then turned to James once more. "So, do you want to do the rota now?"

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea."

"OK, so I was thinking Ravenclaws on Monday, Hufflepuffs on Wednesday, Slytherins on Friday, and Gryffindors on Sunday. We could do Tuesday and Thursday. What do you think, James?"

But James wasn't listening. He was admiring the way Lily's fiery red hair hung in her face as she looked down at the rota, and the way her emerald green eyes showed every emotion that she was feeling.

"James? James."

"Huh?" He snapped to attention. "Uh, that sounds fine, except I know that Arvin is on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and for the past years, they've had practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays."

"Right. So, we'll switch Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." Lily amended.

"That looks good to me."

"OK." Lily said, gathering up her stuff. "Well, I'll see you later, James." She said, flashing him a smile.

"Yeah. Bye, Lily." He said.

Lily Evans left the compartment, leaving behind a boy who melted at her smile, glowed when she called him by his first name, and just generally, was head-over-heels in love with her.

He stared at the door she had just exited, a smile on his face. And right there and then, James Potter decided that this was his year; this year he would get Lily Evans to go out with him. He had to; this year was his last chance.

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"So, who's Head Boy, Lil?" Dorcas demanded, as soon as Lily and Alice slid into the girls' compartment.

"James Potter." Lily said weakly, still slightly shocked.

"Excuse me, I must have not heard you correctly; I thought you said James Potter!" Marlene said, laughing.

"James Potter is Head Boy." Lily repeated, in a stronger voice.

All the girls, save Alice, stared at Lily, with their mouths slightly open. Marlene was the first to recover.

"Well," she said briskly. "At least they didn't pick Black."

"Oh, Merlin, that would've been horrible." Dorcas said with a shudder.

"Can you imagine the chaos?" said Mary.

Marlene closed her eyes. "Those are bad mental images."

Dorcas wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

Lily giggled, which set Alice giggling, and soon the compartment was filled with the sound of laughter. Marlene opened her eyes, and sat there, bemused.

"What's so funny?"

Nobody bothered to answer her.

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"Did Evans get it?" Sirius Black demanded, as soon as James and Remus sat down.

"Of course Lily got it." Remus said.

James just sat there, an odd look on his face.

"What's going through that noggin of yours, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Prongs?" he said, when James didn't answer. "Jamie? James? Proooongs? OI, POTTER!"

"Ouch, Sirius," Remus said, massaging his ears.

"Never underestimate the capacity of Padfoot's lungs." Peter said, also rubbing his ears.

"What's going on?" James asked. He had jumped to his feet and drawn his wand upon hearing Sirius' shout.

Sirius smirked. "Evans reject you again?"

"No, I didn't ask." James said, sitting down and pocketing his wand.

"Well, there's a first for everything, I suppose." Peter said, breaking the silence.

" Seriously mate, you've been chasing that bird for five years and she's rejected you _every single time_, in, I admit, very witty ways. Why don't you just move on?" Sirius asked.

James smiled tiredly. "Like I haven't tried, Pads."

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"Well," Lily said, stretching as she got to her feet. "I best go and collect Potter."

"See you later Lil," Mary called.

"Don't kill Potter; the Quidditch team needs their Captain!" Marlene shouted.

"Good luck!" Dorcas and Alice chorused.

Lily smiled wanly. She had absolutely no idea what had happened to Potter over the summer, but whatever it was, he seemed to have matured. And, Lily decided, that was a good thing. The old James Potter would've been an absolute nightmare to work with; the new James Potter might not be so bad. She knew they would have their fair share of fights, probably more than necessary, but she thought she could deal with it.

The problem was that Lily thought she knew James Potter, but she realized she didn't know him at all. And that bothered Lily. Not the not knowing James Potter, oh no, that didn't bother her much, but the fact that the insults she had thrown at him, the cruel rejections, might not have been deserved after all.

Lily decided that this year she was going to get to know James Potter. The real James Potter.

And not once did Lily think that maybe she wanted to know James Potter for more reasons than she thought.

And certainly she couldn't think that this very conclusion would change her life forever.

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James looked up as Lily Evans slid open the door to the Marauders compartment.

"James? We need to patrol the train." She said

"Oh! Right." He said, leaping up from the game of Exploding Snap he and Sirius were playing, causing it to explode, singing the ends of Sirius' hair.

Sirius gasped. He grabbed his hair frantically, seeing the singed ends.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," He screamed, tugging his hair. "JAMES POTTER, HOW COULD YOU! YOU-YOU- YOU BURNED MY HAIR!"

Lily leaned against the doorframe, watching Sirius' tirade, amusement clear on her face.

Sirius continued to rage and storm at James, until Lily cleared her throat.

"Hello Evans. Just get here?" He asked nervously.

"Oh no, Sirius, I've been here for quite some time now." She said, choking back laughter.

Sirius was spared the humiliation of replying, by James edging out of the compartment.

"Well, Lily, let's not hang around. Come along."

Lily cast one last amused glance at Sirius, before following James.

Upon her departure, Sirius grabbed his hair again, and began moaning."Er…Moony? Know a spell?"

Remus regarded Sirius. Of course he knew a spell, but Sirius needn't know that. No, it would be much funnier this way.

"Course. C'mere, Padfoot."

**A/N- Happy Easter everyone! Review!**


	4. Chapter 4- The Last, First Time

**A/N- Now that school has started up again, I'm planning on getting at least one chapter out per two weeks. I have no clue when I'll be finished with this chapter, but I'm hoping it will be before the weekend is over. Anyway, thank you to my second reviewer, **_**Green Eyes and Glasses**_**! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, the whole world would know my name.**

James smiled to himself. Patrols on the train with Lily hadn't gone nearly as bad as he'd thought they would. In fact, they'd gone very well. She hadn't yelled at him once. Or threatened to hex him. Or actually hexed him.

James' thoughts were full of Lily when he entered his compartment, but what was waiting for him there, drove all thoughts of Lily from his head. Remus was reading, no surprise, and Peter was finishing the summer Charms essay. No, that was all normal. What wasn't normal was Sirius.

Sirius had pink hair.

James did a double take. Sirius was very, er, _protective _of his hair, and James was certain he would never allow it to be pink.

"Er…Pads?" James began. Remus looked up from his book and winked at him quickly. James realized that this was Remus' trick, and Sirius had yet to notice it. Remus' Charms skills were almost unmatched; knowing him he had probably charmed Sirius so that his hair looked normal to him, but really, it was pink.

"Yes, Jamie?" Sirius asked.

"It was nothing, never mind." James replied hastily.

Sirius frowned slightly, but a second later, he put it from his mind. "How were patrols with Lily-Pad?"

"Great, actually,"

"James, you might want to change into your robes now. We should be at Hogwarts in about five minutes." Remus, said, looking up from his book briefly to address him.

"Right."

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Lily flopped onto the seat next to Mary. "I'm exhausted, and we haven't even gotten to Hogwarts yet." she complained. "Prefects meetings, patrols," Dorcas and Alice smiled at each other, as Lily continued whining.

"You can't forget that you're taking twice as many N.E.W.T's as the rest of us." Marlene added, smirking.

"That's not true! I'm only taking two more than you!"

"What are you all planning on doing once we leave school, anyway?" Dorcas asked.

Immediately, the mood sobered up.

"Well," Marlene said carefully. "I was thinking about being an Auror."

"Me too," Mary agreed, in a small voice.

"Same," Alice seconded.

"I was planning on being a Healer." Dorcas said.

All faces looked at Lily, expectantly.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I haven't really thought about it; no, I have, I just don't like to think about it. I guess that's why I'm taking so many N.E.W.T's, I can do almost anything if I want."

Heads nodded in understanding.

"Let's just not talk about it anymore, OK?" Marlene said uneasily.

The girls returned to their laughing, joking, and teasing, but the shadow of their previous conversation remained.

Only Lily was silent. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. The truth was, what Lily wanted was to get married and have children, but also to fight. An evil wizard named Lord Voldemort was persecuting muggle-borns, and it had turned to war. She shook her head. Best not to think about it now. She still had a while before she had to think about these kinds of things.

Lily didn't know how very wrong she was.

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"Firs' years," James smiled as he heard Hagrid's familiar shout. He could barely see Hagrid through the darkness of Hogsmeade station. "Firs' years, this weh! Alrigh' James?" Hagrid called to him.

"Hi, Hagrid!" James yelled back.

"Hagrid!" Sirius waved frantically.

"Er…Sirius? Whas' that?"

James, sensing danger, immediately pushed Sirius forward in the queue, calling over his shoulder at Hagrid, "We'll stop by some time! Bye, Hagrid!"

Sirius turned to James, frowning. "What did he mean?"

"Er…I don't know, Pads."

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Sirius asked, concernedly.

"Of course not."

"What about my hair? Is there something wrong with my hair?"

James choked down a laugh. "You look fine, Padfoot."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, his frown deepening.

"Yes, Pads."

"Come on, you two. There's an empty carriage right there." Remus said from behind them.

"Hey, can I join?" Frank Longbottom, the other seventh year Gryffindor, whom the Marauders had kind of inducted as an honorary Marauder, asked. James noticed Frank's eyes sparkling with laughter as he looked at Sirius.

"Sure, Frank," Sirius said, and they launched into discussion about Quidditch.

"When will the spell wear off?" James whispered to Remus.

"Oh, in a couple of minutes, probably,"

"Which one?"

"Well, let's just say that Sirius isn't going to be happy." Remus said, grinning.

"So," Peter said, once they had all been seated. "What's the prank?"

"Well," said Sirius. "I have an idea."

The boys put their heads together, and began planning their last, first prank.

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"Dorcas," Marlene whined. "Can you _please _scoot _over_?"

"No, I cannot." The blonde replied.

"I don't think these carriages were made for five." Mary said.

The girls were all packed into one of the school carriages. Alice was staring out the window intently. She was looking at the thestrals. In the summer of Alice's fifth year, the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, had raided her house, and killed her father. Alice and her mother had just barely escaped, thus letting Alice see the strange horses that pulled the school carriages.

Lily was also remaining silent. She was going to miss Hogwarts greatly. Hogwarts felt more like home than her small house in Cokeworth sometimes. Lily loved her parents, she really did, but sometimes, they just couldn't understand her as well as her friends did.

She watched as the great castle came into view. All the girls fell silent quickly, savoring the very last, first time they would see their home. They watched as the castle grew closer, and the truth sank in. This was their last year. Their last chance. For every one of them, it meant something different.

This was Alice's last chance to get Frank Longbottom to ask her out.

This was Dorcas's last chance to not fail Potions.

This was Marlene's last chance to win the Quidditch Cup.

This was Mary's last chance to learn about Ancient Runes.

And for Lily, well she didn't really know what she wanted to come out of this year, but it was her last chance to do, well, everything.

In another carriage, there was also silence.

This was Sirius's last chance to pull legendary pranks.

This was Remus's last chance to prove that four seventeen-year-old boys could actually be quiet.

This was Peter's last chance to get a girlfriend.

This was Frank's last chance to ask Alice out.

And for James, it was his last chance to do many things, play Quidditch, prank, but what he wanted most of all was Lily Evans. This was his last chance to get Lily Evans, and James was determined not to fail.

It was bittersweet for the seventh years, that last, first time, but all of them were determined to leave their mark on Hogwarts.

Be careful what you wish, because you just might get it.

**A/N-Well, there it is! My best attempt at it, anyway. All reviews are welcome! *hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink***

**Thank you if you've stuck with me thus far! **

**-MM**


	5. Chapter 5-Quite Literally, A New Chapter

**A/N- Hi! OK, I just read my story, and to clear up the confusion if you're having any, Frank is a Gryffindor. Sorry, I tried to change that, but I guess it didn't work. So, just ignore anything about Frank being a Hufflepuff. Also, a thank you to Sarapha (I hope I spelled that right) who sent me a REALLY SUPER-DUPER NICE PM. Thank you for reading everyone! I apologize for the super-late update , but my Word crashed, and I had some things going on. Won't happen again! **

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't have to publish this on fanfiction, I'd just make it a real book already.**

**OOoOoOOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOOoOoOoOOOOOOOoOoOoOoOoOOoOo OOoooooooOOooOOoooo**

Lily grinned at Marlene as they sat down on the wooden benches in the Great Hall. This year, Marlene's little brother, Alex, was at Hogwarts.

"I hope he gets sorted into Gryffindor!" Dorcas said to Lily excitedly.

"I hope so too!" Alice exclaimed.

All the girls had met Alex at one time or another and all of them had liked him, especially Alice.

Even though you couldn't find closer siblings than the Prewett ones, Alex and Marlene were polar opposites. Alex was bookish, Marlene was not. Marlene loved her clothes, Alex loved his books. But both of them were incredibly brave and loyal.

"I don't know; sure I'd love it if Alex was a Gryffindor, but I think he's more Ravenclaw material. " Lily said, voicing her thoughts.

"Ugh," Marlene said, pulling a face. "I hope so. Having Alex in my house would be a _nightmare_."

"What's a nightmare, McKinnon?" A voice called seductively. Sirius Black swooped down and took the empty seat next to Marlene.

"_You're _a nightmare, Black." Marlene muttered darkly, hiding her eyes behind her curtain of blonde waves.

Sirius and Marlene had liked each other since fifth year. This was obvious to everyone but them, as things normally work in these situations. Marlene hadn't exactly _told _Lily this, but occasionally she would exchange glances with Dorcas or Mary or Alice, telling her that the other girls had her same suspicions about the two.

Sirius gasped, clutching his heart. "Surely you don't really mean that, McKinnon!"

"I do," She said to the floor, barely fighting off a laugh.

Lily was staring dumbstruck at Sirius.

Sirius Black had pink hair. _Sirius Black_ had pink hair. Sirius Black had _pink _hair._ Sirius Black had pink hair._

'Forgotten how attractive I was, Evans?" he said, noticing Lily's open mouth.

Lily shut her mouth immediately. "Quite the contrary, Black. I was merely noticing you're change of taste in hair style."

"I didn't change my…my…hair…my hair…_my hair_…" Sirius once again grabbed the ends of his hair and screamed.

At that exact moment, the other three Marauders, plus Frank, entered the Hall. Remus took the seat next to Lily, and James took the one across from her, both boys watching Sirius with amused expressions on their faces.

"MY HAIR! MY HAIR IS _PINK!_ WHO IS TO BLAME!?" Sirius raged. Remus snickered, and realization dawned on Sirius's face. Remus cringed, waiting for what was sure to come.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN! HOW COULD YOU! I ASKED YOU TO FIX IT, AND YOU DID THIS! I TRUSTED YOU! YOU HAVE HUMILIATED ME BEYOND RECOGNITION! I AM FOREVER SHAMED!AND IN THE NAME OF MERLIN, WHY PINK! MERLIN, PINK OF ALL COLORS?!

Sirius seemed to notice everyone's eyes upon him at that moment, and proceeded to shrink down in his seat.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "Can I begin the Sorting, now, Mr. Black? Perhaps you should go to the Hospital Wing, for a calming drought?"

This riled Sirius up all over again. He stood up and screamed, "A CALMING DROUGHT? I DON'T NEED A _CALMING_ DROUGHT! WHAT I NEED, MINERVA DARLING IS MY HAIR AND DIGNITY BACK!"

"Your hair looks perfectly normal, Mr. Black, I assure you. Now, the Sorting has been put off long enough by your temper tantrums."

"TEMPER TANTRUMS?! I DO NOT HAVE TEMP-!"

"Mr. Potter!"

"Er…sorry Professor. C'mon Padfoot," James said, grabbing his best mates arm and dragging him out of the Hall.

"Thank Merlin it's his last year," McGonagall muttered, turning back to the first years.

Lily choked back a laugh and scanned the line quickly, looking for Alex. She grinned when she remembered her sorting. They had looked just as frightened and pale-faced as these first years. Lily had hoped she would be in Slytherin, the same house as Severus, but now she realized that most of the Slytherins were an unpleasant lot, and she loved Gryffindor and her friends there. Even though Lily had been disappointed at first about Gryffindor, as soon as Marlene, her very first girl friend at Hogwarts and now best friend, was sorted into Gryffindor too, Lily had felt better. Who would've known that she would befriend the Marauders years later?

"Abbott, Evan!" McGonagall called. A pale-faced boy stumbled over to the stool. Lily realized that she had missed the Sorting Hat's song. _Oh well_, she thought, _there's always next year_. Then she remembered; she wasn't coming back next year. Lily fought off tears which, she reminded herself, were for the end of the year.

Abbott, Evan was sitting on the stool, terrified, with the Sorting Hat covering his eyes. A second later, the Hat opened its wide rip of a mouth and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table cheered as Abbott, Evan leapt up off the stool and hurried towards their table.

"Dearborn, Caradoc!" became the first Gryffindor, and shortly afterward "Fenwick, Benjy" became the first Ravenclaw.

Lily lost attention in the sorting quickly afterward, only to be shaken awake again by Mary. "It's Alex's turn," she hissed.

Indeed McKinnon, Alex was sitting on the stool, looking very apprehensive. Marlene waited with bated breath. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was really only seconds, the Hat opened its mouth and… "RAVENCLAW!"

Marlene clapped heartily along with the Ravenclaws, looking intensely relieved. Alex too, also looked glad that he had not been put with his clothes-obsessed sister.

At last, "Yennings, Boris" was sorted into Slytherin, and McGonagall rolled up her list and put the stool and Hat away until the next year.

Dumbledore made his traditional welcoming speech, and food appeared upon the golden plates. The Welcoming Feast was complete, save for one thing… "Remus," Lily leaned over and whispered in his ear. "What should I be prepared for?"

"Nothing too drastic, don't worry. James is really serious about this Head Boy thing; he doesn't want it to end before it's even begun! But as soon as Sirius and James get back _in here_, it should start." He replied.

Lily nodded, and went back to eating.

By now, people were beginning to look around in anticipation for the Marauders Welcoming Prank. It had usually happened by now, but with two members missing, they supposed it couldn't commence quite yet.

Remus looked over to the large doors. Where _were_ his two best mates? Suddenly, he saw the doors, ever so slightly open, and then shut. He grinned. He should have known they would take the Cloak.

"What took you so long?" Remus whispered, amused, to the empty bench next to him.

"Padfoot isn't talking to you, Moony." The bench informed him.

"Oh, I see. What took you so long then, Prongs?"

"Never mind that, let's just hurry, shall we?" the bench replied hastily.

Remus nodded, and began performing complex wand movements under the table.

"Ready?" Peter whispered to Remus.

"Set," was his reply.

"Go," the bench said.

Remus pointed his wand at the ceiling, and…nothing happened.

Peter and Remus grinned at each other.

Sirius and James waited, invisible to the student body.

A huge cloud of red and gold glitter exploded over the Gryffindor table, blue and gray glitter over the Ravenclaw one, yellow and black over Hufflepuff, and green and sliver over Slytherin. Red, green, blue, and yellow glitter covered the teacher's table, and Dumbledore winked at the Marauders as the glitter settled over him.

But the party wasn't over yet. In the center of the Great Hall, golden sparklers formed the words _Marauders Last Year, Class of 1978._

Lily grinned. She had to admit, the Marauders were good, and their magic was very impressive. Their pranks had gotten better over the years, and less destructive. They were more like shows now.

And after the feast was over that night, Lily watched James as he helped her shepherd the first years to the dorms. He took his position seriously, and once, when a first year, Caradoc Dearborn, asked him why the portraits were moving, he explained to the boy very kindly why they did.

After they had shown the first years to their dorms, they made their way to Dumbledore's office, where he had told them to meet him.

Together they walked all the way to the statue of the gargoyle, where they halted.

"Um…what did he say the password was again?" Lily asked James tentatively.

James looked at her incredulously. "Lily Evans doesn't know something?"

"Shut up," Lily grumbled, crossing her arms.

"You're lucky I know it, or we'd be here all night." James said, smirking.

"Well go on then, if you keep teasing me we _will_ be here all night." she replied.

He cleared his throat. "Jelly Slugs," he said to the statue. It nodded and revealed the entrance.

The Heads stepped onto the staircase and rode it up to the top.

"Ready?" James asked.

"As I'll ever be," she replied.

And so James knocked, and both knew that this was the beginning to a new chapter in their lives.

James thought about Lily.

And Lily thought about James.

**A/N- Thank you all my readers! I again apologize for the late update, won't happen again! And also Caradoc Dearborn was actually a member of the first Order of the Phoenix, so he's not an OC.**

"**I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." –Douglas Adams, **_**The Salmon of Doubt**_**.**

**Happy fanficcing everybody! **


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